AP PhotoDetroit Lions wide receiver Calvin Johnson is a key part of the team's high-power offense.

A new year is upon us and it’s time for me to bless the masses with my incredible prognostication on what will happen in sports in 2012:

• The Detroit Lions will have a great 2012 season and win Super Bowl XLVII.

I think an offseason of maturity and free-agent additions to the defense will make the Lions a 13-3 team. A free-agent corner, safety and speed-rush linebacker will be needed to put them over the top.

The offense will set every NFL record if everyone stays healthy. The draft will have to center around the offensive line or whatever the Lions don’t get in free agency.

They have the talent to get home-field advantage in the playoffs next season, and they will. A softer schedule, a team that is a year older, and some new faces on defense will be enough to elevate the Lions as one of the best teams in pro football for years to come.

A three-win improvement next year to get home playoff games isn’t as crazy as you’d think.

Both teams have the most depth in the conference. Both will go to the NCAA tournament and make it to the Sweet 16. Part of me wants to put MSU coach Tom Izzo in another Final Four because of Draymond Green and Keith Appling. I’ll wait on that pick for now.

Michigan will be in the 2013 Final Four if Tim Hardaway Jr. stays away from the NBA.

• The Detroit Pistons will struggle to win 30 games.

The Pistons’ big-money deals to Tayshaun Prince and Rodney Stuckey might set the franchise back another four years. I like the long-term future with Brandon Knight and Greg Monroe.

I just think holding on to the past is delaying a quicker route to credibility. New ownership should have cleaned house top to bottom.

The Pistons’ President of Basketball Operations Joe Dumars has done many good things for the organization, but it is time for a change at the top.

• The Detroit Tigers win the World Series.

I know I might be the engineer of the homer train today, but with that starting rotation, you have to think the Tigers can win it all. Mix in the all-stars that swing the bats and I see a world championship parade in the fall in downtown Detroit.

Going out and getting a leadoff hitter and another stud arm who could win 15 games would be huge insurance for this prediction. The AL Central is a joke this season. Ninty-five wins is an easy number to hit this year. The Tigers will get home-field advantage for the playoffs.

• The Detroit Red Wings win the Stanley Cup.

Detroit will be the city of champions in 2012. Jimmy Howard took a big step to the next level as a playoff goaltender last year in the San Jose series. I think Detroit will get past the Vancouver Canucks in the Western Conference Finals and beat the Philadelphia Flyers in six games to hoist the Cup.

The Red Wings’ depth has carried them through injuries the past two years. If they stay healthy, they will win it all. I also think motivation will be a key factor in the postseason.

• Michigan football goes 10-2.

The Wolverines might have a better team but could lose more games this year. The schedule is so strong with Alabama, Notre Dame, Nebraska and Ohio State all on the road.

The Michigan State game at Ann Arbor is a must-win this year for coach Brady Hoke and the Wolverines. The only way Michigan gets more than 10 wins is if quarterback Denard Robinson runs over Big Ten defenses like he usually does against nonconference teams.

Another key to better-than-expected results will be how many freshman and backups step in on defense and the offensive line. I think the winner of the MSU-Michigan game at the Big House will go to the Rose Bowl.

• MSU football goes 9-3.

A new quarterback is the only concern. The Spartans defense will be good enough to win every game. If they can have a new guy under center in Andrew Maxwell and beat Boise State and Notre Dame at home in the first three games, I might have to upgrade my number of wins. I need to see an untested quarterback get it done in big-time games to really gauge 2012 in East Lansing.

It’s tough to pick against MSU in any game on its schedule because of how good the Spartans will be on defense.